Commercialization: May 2008 Archives

"ILS International Launch Services Inc., a world leader in launch services for commercial satellites, announced today that Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center acquired the shares of ILS owned by majority shareholder, Space Transport Inc. Financial details were not disclosed. The transaction was completed today. Vladimir Nesterov, General Director of Khrunichev, said: "Building on our strong working relationship with the ILS team, this transaction will cement ILS's leadership role in the commercial launch services industry."

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"In Situ Resource Utilization or ISRU is the use of materials derived at the location in space that you have traveled to. This is mostly associated with the Moon, Mars, or the Asteroids. Without ISRU there simply is no long term human space program. Why? We simply cannot afford to take everything with us at prices exceeding two hundred thousand dollars per kilogram for the Moon and even more for Mars. Therefore, for any rational human space exploration program, the question is not why but how, when, and where we implement ISRU."

"The NASA Innovative Partnerships Program (IPP) is hereby requesting information from organizations interested in hosting NASA employees participating in the NASA Innovation Transfusion project. The goal of the Innovation Transfusion project is to increase the flow of new ideas into NASA by increasing connections between NASA employees and outside organizations that are creative leaders in areas that could benefit NASA missions.

The Innovation Transfusion project has two elements: Innovation Ambassadors and Innovation Scouts. The Innovation Ambassadors program will provide a temporary developmental assignment for select members of NASA's technical workforce. The Innovation Scouts program will provide for small teams of NASA employees to participate in focused workshops with a host external organization to exchange information on specific technical innovations."

"As leaders of our nation's largest aerospace and technology companies, we employ hundreds of thousands of Americans and know first hand the formidable challenges in today's global marketplace. We write to thank you for your past support of NASA and to urge you to enact a top-line increase for NASA's FY 2009 budget. Without this increase, our nation faces the very real risk of losing our uniquely critical industrial base and human space access capability."

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"If NASA decides by this summer to proceed with the development of crew transfer capability under the agency's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program, SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk says his company could be ready to conduct crew flights to the space station by early 2011. NASA is funding SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corp. to develop cargo capability for the International Space Station (ISS) under COTS, but so far has held off on greenlighting the crew transfer portion of the program, known as "COTS D." Only SpaceX has been actively working on a COTS D concept, with Orbital focused exclusively on cargo at this point."

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"Robert Richards is CEO of Odyssey Moon Ltd, the first contenders for the Google Lunar X Prize, a $30 million prize fund for the first commercial team to land a craft on the moon and send back video footage. CNN spoke to him about his inspiration, his career and the potential of the moon as a resource for Earth."

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"Four contractors working to shut down a nuclear reactor at a NASA facility in northern Ohio have been charged with fraudulently billing the government, a federal prosecutor said Thursday. Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Edwards said the four men were accused in an indictment of overbilling a total of $347,664 by falsely claiming they were entitled to per-diem mileage reimbursements."

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"The Boeing Company is seeking talented mission operations specialists with current NASA experience in the Houston area in support of its bid for NASA's Facilities Development and Operations Contract (FDOC). Current Mission Support Operations Contract employees are encouraged to submit a contact form at http://active.boeing.com/defense-space/space/fdoc/ to receive information on an open house scheduled for May 17."

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